Merkel blasts US diplomat’s F**k the EU comment

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed outrage over a leaked phone conversation in which a senior US diplomat used an expletive to dismiss the EU’s handling of the Ukrainian crisis. Western officials have attempted to blame Russia for the leak.

"The chancellor considers this statement absolutely
unacceptable...and wants to emphasize again that (EU foreign
policy chief Catherine) Ashton is doing an outstanding job,"
Merkel's spokeswoman said on Friday.

"The European Union will continue with its intensive efforts
to calm the situation in Ukraine."

Washington's new top diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland,
apologized on Thursday for the contents of the leaked
conversation, though she offered no further elaboration during a
press conference in Kiev on Friday.

“I will not comment on a private diplomatic
conversation," she told reporters in Kiev, after talks with
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leaders.

"It was pretty impressive tradecraft," she added in what
has been viewed as indirect confirmation of the recording’s
authenticity. “Audio quality was very good."

Merkel's spokeswoman, Christiane Wirtz, offered scant details
regarding whether Nuland’s apology had been received, telling the
Berlin Press Conference that "contact was made with the
chancellery."

A German foreign ministry spokesman used suspicion that Russia
was behind the leak to take a pot shot at the United States for
its own sweeping surveillance programs, which included Merkel’s
mobile phone.

In the clip, Nuland is heard saying “f**k the EU" while speaking
with the American Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyat, on how to
end the political crisis in Ukraine.

In the phone call, Nuland was heard discussing
boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko and “Fatherland” party
head Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The conversation centered on who should
go into the new government.

"I don't think Klitsch should go into the government,"
she appears to say.

A spokesperson for Klitschko refused to comment on an
“unauthenticated conversation,” while Nuland hinted on
Friday that it would not damage relations between the US and the
opposition.

The tape, however, shows strain between Washington and Brussels
over how to handle the political crisis that has gripped Ukraine
since November, when Yanukovich rejected a trade pact with the
EU.

In a separate leaked recording, an Ashton aide can be heard
complaining about the United States for telling Ukrainian
opposition members that Brussels was "soft" in its
reluctance to impose stricter measures, such as sanctions to
punish the Ukrainian government, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, Nuland said on Friday the United States is prepared to
give financial support to Ukraine if the country undertakes the
necessary political reforms.

“We have had extensive discussions at all meetings concerning
support from the international community, including the United
States,” Nuland said.

“[The United States] is ready to support Ukraine if the will
quickly move towards the path of protecting human rights,
dignity, a de-escalation of the conflict, and political
reforms.”